


Aftershock

by merae2888



Series: Better Together [5]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-28 14:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8448934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merae2888/pseuds/merae2888
Summary: Clarke thought she’d seen him at his worst and his best.  
She’s never seen him like this.
OR
Bellamy's reaction after.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A little drabble following the Season 3 finale that I couldn't get out of my head.

Clarke thought she’d seen him at his worst and his best. 

She’s never seen him like this.

Octavia is out of the room and in the next heartbeat Bellamy’s on his knees. Everyone takes a step toward him but it’s Clarke that gets behind him, breaks his fall and lets him collapse into her arms and hold him against her chest and presses her hand over his stammering heart and holds her cheek against his flushed skin and whispers reassurances into his skin when he starts breathing harshly and waves the others away. She holds him tight until the muscles in her arms are strained and jumping. 

“Breathe, Bellamy.” She whispers and she can feel him trying, can feel his chest expand and collapse. It sounds watery, like he’s trying to breathe underwater. “Just breathe.”

There’s so much noise around them as the others busy themselves with finding a way out. Clarke’s never been less interested in her people’s well being. It’s as if the world has shrunk to the feel of Bellamy shivering in her arms, his breath rattling from his chapped lips, and the way he’s sliding to the ground, drained of the energy to hold himself upright. 

“Bellamy,” she says again, like it will help. She kind of props him up and he goes like a ragdoll, slumping forward until his head is bowed so far down that his chin rests on his chest. Clarke shimmies around to kneel in front of him. She puts her fingers against his rapid pulse. “You need to calm down.”

“Did that…did she really…” The words are barely audible he’s breathing so hard. “She wasn’t supposed to be like me.” Clarke scoots closer. Kane is watching them, looking wrecked, looking desperate to help but Bellamy’s neck is still red from where he’d been choking him only minutes before. Clarke meets his gaze and shakes her head once. Kane nods, looking impossibly more miserable than before but she can’t worry about that right now. She wants to drape herself over Bellamy, make herself large enough to cover every inch of him and shield him from everything in the world. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Clarke whispers but it’s thin, devoid of any real conviction. 

There’s sweat beading along his brow but he’s chilled to the touch when she cradles his face in her hands. She skims her thumbs over his cheekbones, around the large, dark circles beneath his eyes.

Her best guess is that he’s in shock. She feels the same. The moment of Octavia stabbing Pike is playing on repeat in her brain and it makes her feel sick. She can’t imagine how Bellamy feels right now. “You need to calm down. I think you’re in shock.” He nods while he sniffles, sounding impossibly young. On instinct, she leans her forehead against his and brings her fingers to his temples. Slowly, she starts rubbing small even circles into his skin. He breathes out slow as his eyes drift up to hers. He stares at her through his lashes. There are tears about to fall. 

“Did that really happen?”

“Bellamy, it’s not on you.“

“I’m her brother. I was supposed to protect her. She was supposed to be better than me.”

“This isn’t your fault, Bellamy. You have to know that.”

He swallowed. “My sister, my-“

“Stop it,” Clarke said forcefully. She lifted his head so she could stare directly into his eyes. They were always dark, always deep but something was missing, some light had disappeared. She clutched tighter at his face, let her blunt nails dig into his cheeks. “You can’t blame yourself for everything she does.” The scar from his sister’s fist was still visible on his cheek. She let her thumb drag over it. “This wasn’t your fault.” From the corner of her eye, she can see Kane covering Pike’s still body with a dirty sheet. Bellamy sees her staring and glances over his shoulder. A shudder runs through him when the sheet sticks to the blood still seeping from the fatal blow. “Neither is that.”

Bellamy tries to shrug her off but she holds firm, winding herself tighter and closer until she’s hugging him. His hands curl into fists and he presses his knuckles into the rough, hard floor, refusing to hug her back. Her fingers brush softly over the darkening marks on his neck, the ones from Kane’s fingers. When she presses her mouth to the bruises, he slips down and lets her take some of his weight. She rocks back and holds him close. Hesitantly, his hand comes up to rest on her back, not quite a hug. “Neither was this,” she breathes. He might nod but they’re so entwined its impossible for her to know for sure. 

The collar of her shirt is wet from his tears when they finally pull apart. He sways back and lands on his ass while wiping at his face. “I should go find her,” he says after a second. 

She stands up before he can and holds out her hand to help him to his feet. “I’ll go with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and Comments are the best things in the world *hint hint, wink wink*


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